Case study PCYC Leaders Connect, NSW Central Coast Community College. Background. flexiblelearning.net.au

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1 Case study PCYC Leaders Connect, NSW 2009 Central Coast Community College Background Central Coast Community College, was established in 1982, and is a VETAB registered and nationally recognised provider of education and training programs and a partner in the Central Coast Campus at Ourimbah. We are a not-for-profit, community owned and governed organisation, committed to providing quality education and training to our community. Central Coast Community College is committed to providing a range of quality training options, offering over 800 courses during the day, evening and weekends. The courses include vocational, accredited and leisure courses, which cater for the life-long learning and development needs of our community. Corporate training and consultancy are also a strong focus of the College. Courses are designed and tailored to meet business needs and delivered onsite or at the Central Coast Campus. Training programs include initial needs analysis, course development, delivery and evaluation of the course. Our project focused on embedding e-learning strategies into the day-to-day business operations of Police and Community Youth Clubs (PCYC) NSW, by up-skilling existing PCYC managers in the use of online technologies, and establishing an ongoing development program for new Managers. In NSW, 59 Police and Community Youth Clubs service over 54,000 members, supporting youth to get active and become leaders and working proactively to reduce and prevent crime. Clubs are geographically dispersed across the state and each employs a local Manager to develop programs for their community, to oversee the day to day operations of the Club and to ensure ongoing viability. PCYC Leaders Connect provides the opportunity to assist Managers develop core skills in using e-technology to support their day to day business operations, as well as develop business skills in key areas that will lead to further growth of their Club. flexiblelearning.net.au

2 The project team applied for funding through the Australian Flexible Learning Framework (Framework) in the category of Business Partnerships and was successful in their application. Prior to applying for funding through the Framework, PCYC and CCCC had engaged in discussions regarding the delivery of small business management competencies to PCYC Managers. This project fits into PCYC s professional development plan for Managers, and addresses the key factor of how to overcome geographic barriers to participation. If you would like to know more about our organisation, please visit us at Project Implementation and Sustainability By combining study in accredited small business modules with an online learning environment and community of practice, PCYC Leaders Connect enabled Managers to experience the benefits of technology on a daily basis. Supplemented with the use of e- technology for implementing evaluation, communication and marketing strategies, the project focused on innovative, creative and sustainable ways of improving service delivery at the Club level. By reducing the tyranny of distance, Managers were able to connect in a meaningful and useful way to collaboratively resolve problems and support one another. The project was divided into the following 10 stages: 1. Application for funding is approved and project commences 2. Develop EOI s for potential applicants in consultation with our business partner 3. Analyse applications and select appropriate student group 4. Hold focus meetings and develop the project implementation plan 5. Create and implement DiscoverE room 6. Setup and implement Edna group 7. Testing of DiscoverE room and Edna group 8. Training delivery 9. Evaluate training 10. Finalise project outcomes This project was the first partnership program between the College and PCYC. Its successful outcomes may lead to future opportunities between the two organisations. Commonwealth of Australia

3 The solution The project team implemented a blended approach to delivering small business management competencies. This included the use of surveys, blogs, wikis and audio. Managers participated in three (one hour) online workshops for each unit of competency. Augmenting this, the facilitator posted questions relating to the workshop topics in an online forum for asynchronous discussion. Participating in the discussion topics formed a component of assessment evidence. As each of the workshop topics related to a key function of the Club, we encouraged Managers to discuss challenges and solutions to those functions. CCCC responded to questions relating to the units of competency and, where necessary, PCYC senior management responded to specific issues that related to their organisation. Small Business Management units included and delivered in this order - Market the small business, Plan small business finance, Undertake small business planning, and Establish legal and risk management requirements of a small business. Benefits Benefits for our learners included: New capabilities in workplace practices Cost and time efficiencies Capacity to meet more regularly reducing isolation Upgraded qualifications and increased opportunities for recognition of prior learning and work experience Benefits for our business partner included: Strengthened relationship with our organisation Improved staff capabilities Time and cost savings Improved communication and opportunities to network amongst employees Commonwealth of Australia

4 Issues that arose The main issue was that the participants were too busy to complete the tasks involved in the program. To participate in the online tutoring and learning was for some overwhelming with their work commitments. We quickly did a feedback on whether to change the times of the sessions, in which the sensuous was to move the time to an early session. This was done, but changing the time did not increase the involvement and this was shown in the attendance sheet records. Completion of the assessment tasks posed an issue with participants requesting extensions throughout the course of the program. These were granted, though this only caused more stress on the participants as the next assessment task was still due on a specific date. The participants found the work load challenging and this resulted in assessments not completed or handed in. We did experience some technical issues during a few sessions, due to the climate affecting internet access and some dropouts were experienced by almost everyone. Outcomes Project success was measured by the: percentage of unit completions, The percentage of unit completions was very low on average about 36%. overall increase in capability in an online environment, Feedback was sought via questionnaire and verbal questioning. All participants enjoyed the online environment and have increased their individual capabilities. increase in number of participants using various forms of e-technology in Clubs, The participants are more confident to use e-technology within their Club static or reduced employment turnover ratio in the participant team, Feedback indicated that the participants felt rewarded for their efforts by being offered to participate in this program. Most of the participants have work in the Club environment for a long period of time and felt it was reward to have a qualification for the skills that they provide within their day to day work environment. Commonwealth of Australia

5 achieving identified milestones and budget targets. We achieved all milestones within budget targets and timelines. Available to the team were two champions, one from the business partner and the other from the RTO. Reflection and suggestion for improvement of the project Within the expression of interest application we did indicate the amount of time that the participant would need to commit to the project and what strategies they would need to implement to ensure they had the time needed to enable them to maintain their participation. Though we did not ask the participant what their best day and time would be to participate in the online learning tutorials and forums, so this would be a question I would add to the application. This would then give a consensus from the group on the time and day. Change in the order of the units to complete the Establish legal and risk management requirements of a small business first and then the other units to follow as already planned. A further suggestion for improvement would be to increase the timeframe for the whole project (e.g. one month), to allow participants more flexibility to complete and resubmit assessment tasks around their work commitments. Acknowledgement The Australian Flexible Learning Framework (Framework) provides the vocational education and training (VET) system with the essential e-learning infrastructure and expertise needed to respond to the challenges of a modern economy and the training needs of Australian businesses and workers. E-learning Innovations aims to embed e-learning into the national training system by supporting and enabling innovation in training design and delivery, at the state and territory level. This is a [insert state/territory] E-learning Innovations project output, developed by [insert RTO and partners names], with seed funding from the Framework. Commonwealth of Australia

6 For more information Central Coast Community College Johanna Woodroffe Vocational Program Coordinator PCYC Leader Connect Program Phone: (02) For more information on the Australian Flexible Learning Framework: Phone: (07) Fax: (07) Website: flexiblelearning.net.au GPO Box 1326 Brisbane QLD 4001 Commonwealth of Australia